Todd Bozeman

More than a week after being placed on paid administrative leave following an on-court confrontation with one of his own players, Morgan State men's basketball coach Todd Bozeman was reinstated Thursday night, a school spokesman said. Bozeman will return to sideline for his team's home game Saturday against North Carolina A&T. Clinton Coleman, a spokesman for Morgan State president David Wilson, said in an interview that "results of the investigation were inconclusive" looking into the incident that led to Bozeman's suspension.

For the second time in three years, no Maryland school was among the 68 selected for the NCAA men's basketball tournament. But coaches and observers say that fact combined with a relative down period for the University of Maryland have obscured an overall upswing in the state's college basketball scene. Highlights from 2012-2013 included: Loyola winning 20 games for the second straight season, Towson staging a historic turnaround from 1-31 to 18-13 and tied for second in the Colonial Athletic Association and Mount St. Mary's going to the final of the Northeast Conference tournament under a first-year coach.

The attorney for Todd Bozeman said Monday that university administrators violated the Morgan State men's basketball coach's contract and school policy regarding disciplining senior staff members when they placed the 48-year-old coach on paid administrative leave Sunday night. Ricky Lefft, a South Carolina-based attorney, said that neither he nor Bozeman has been made aware by school officials as to why the coach was suspended, and that not being allowed to appeal any action taken against Bozeman was a violation of the contract he signed in 2009.

NORFOLK, Va. - The wave Morgan State had ridden since the first week of February crashed Saturday in the finals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament. The Bears wiped out one game short of their goal. North Carolina A&T got only a basket from Bruce Beckford and two free throws from Adrian Powell in the game's final 3:57, but it was enough to finish a 57-54 win that earned the Aggies their first NCAA tournament berth since 1995. Enough, because Morgan State could answer only with Blake Bozeman's 3-point basket in a finish that lacked art, if not excitement.

Do you care? On a Thursday afternoon in mid-January, Todd Bozeman halted practice at Morgan State, tossed the basketballs aside, echoed a recurring theme about commitment and posed that question to his players. Do you care? The Bears, bad news for nearly three decades, had posted a few nice wins, but their first-year coach wanted to know if they yearned with their every fiber to do what he expected of a team. That half-hour skull session led to a five-game winning streak in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and dreams of Morgan State's first berth in the NCAA Division I tournament.

When someone you love dies, the stories you tell about them - whether you're telling them to strangers on the street or to family members sitting around the dinner table - don't change. For the most part, it's the same details, same anecdotes, same punch lines, even years after they're gone. It's the tense, unfortunately, that changes. He has a great laugh gets replaced by He had a great laugh. And while that might seem like a minor thing, it's not.

Todd Bozeman adored his older brother Danny. It was Danny who taught him to swim, drive and do all the stuff a younger sibling ought to know. When Todd needed money, Danny gave him a buck. When Todd got into scrapes, Danny had his back. When Danny died at 55 in 2007, he left behind an orphaned teenage son, Okoye. Todd knew right away that he would look after the 15-year-old just as Danny had once watched over him. "If something happens to me, Bony, I want you to raise Okoye," Danny had said.

NORFOLK, Va. - The wave Morgan State had ridden since the first week of February crashed Saturday in the finals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament. The Bears wiped out one game short of their goal. North Carolina A&T got only a basket from Bruce Beckford and two free throws from Adrian Powell in the game's final 3:57, but it was enough to finish a 57-54 win that earned the Aggies their first NCAA tournament berth since 1995. Enough, because Morgan State could answer only with Blake Bozeman's 3-point basket in a finish that lacked art, if not excitement.

George Washington unveiled new women's basketball coach Michael Bozeman at an early-afternoon news conference yesterday, but his big brother, Todd, couldn't wait that long. Todd Bozeman, the men's basketball coach at Morgan State, had already released the news the night before on his blog, in typical big brother fashion, writing, "Good luck little brother! You're prepared, so take your exam. Plan your work and work your Plan! Go Lady Colonials!" Indeed, Michael Bozeman said he and Todd Bozeman, who, at 44, is three years older, have already begun comparing notes about how to keep George Washington, which went 27-7 last season, atop the Atlantic 10. "We've always shared those kinds of ideas and different philosophies," Michael Bozeman said.

Todd Bozeman's demeanor rarely changed Saturday at Hill Field House. From the moment he took his seat on the Morgan State bench until he left following a 62-61 loss to North Carolina A&T, the 48-year old coach was the picture of serenity. Even while his team was building, and then blowing, a 13-point first-half lead. Even as his Bears were committing 19 turnovers and losing yet another close game in a season filled with them. Even as his own son, freshman point guard Blake Bozeman, missed what could have been the game-winning shot.

There's not a hint of hyperbole in Todd Bozeman 's voice when he calls the 2011-12 season “the toughest year I've ever had as a coach.” In his sixth year at Morgan State, Bozeman's Bears stumbled through a 9-19 season, and the veteran coach was placed on paid administrative leave after he was accused of hitting senior guard Larry Bastfield during a game at South Carolina State. A week later, after university officials found that “results of the investigation [into the incident]

During the summer he was the leading scorer on his AAU team. For his powerhouse high school program, he's the ultimate “glue guy.” No matter the level of competition, and no matter the quantifiable contributions, Cedric Blossom 's do-it-all game has made him a favorite of coaches and players alike. Blossom's versatility also made him a prime mid-major recruit, with Bryant, Dartmouth, Holy Cross, Loyola, Morgan State, New Hampshire and Towson among the programs that expressed interest in the 6-foot-6, 225-pound forward.

Todd Bozeman's demeanor rarely changed Saturday at Hill Field House. From the moment he took his seat on the Morgan State bench until he left following a 62-61 loss to North Carolina A&T, the 48-year old coach was the picture of serenity. Even while his team was building, and then blowing, a 13-point first-half lead. Even as his Bears were committing 19 turnovers and losing yet another close game in a season filled with them. Even as his own son, freshman point guard Blake Bozeman, missed what could have been the game-winning shot.

The status of Morgan State men's basketball coach Todd Bozeman, who was placed on paid administrative leave Sunday after an incident during his team's victory Saturday at South Carolina State, remains unresolved after he met Wednesday night with a committee charged with finding out what exactly occurred. Bozeman was accused by South Carolina State president George E. Cooper of punching one of his own players, senior point guard Larry Bastfield , in the face during a timeout late in the game.

The attorney for Todd Bozeman said Monday that university administrators violated the Morgan State men's basketball coach's contract and school policy regarding disciplining senior staff members when they placed the 48-year-old coach on paid administrative leave Sunday night. Ricky Lefft, a South Carolina-based attorney, said that neither he nor Bozeman has been made aware by school officials as to why the coach was suspended, and that not being allowed to appeal any action taken against Bozeman was a violation of the contract he signed in 2009.

Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman wasn't sure quite what to expect from his basketball team Saturday after a two-week layoff. Facing crosstown-rival UMBC, the host Bears didn't make their coach sweat for long, hitting 10 of their first 15 shots, controlling the tempo and building an early 22-point lead before staving off the Retrievers' second-half rally in a 75-62 win. "The first 15 minutes was the best 15 minutes we've had all year," Bozeman...